Update provided on key Kilkenny site to councillors

Cllr Eugene McGuinness sought an update on the Kells Road site at the County Council meeting last evening  – Director of Services Fiona Deegan confirmed the intention of the Irish Red Cross to house six Palestinian families there as part of the Gaza Medevac Initiative though which children from the war-torn region receive healthcare through the HSE.

The Irish Red Cross told the local authority that these families were initially expected to be housed here on November 24th. However, as of yesterday, the Council had yet to receive clarity about whether a contact to facilitate such a move had been entered into by the Government, the Irish Red Cross and the private owner of the site.

A Section 5 planning submission for the site is due to be adjudicated on January 28th next and this will determine if the temporary use of three buildings on the site to accommodate persons with International Protection are exempt or not. Separately, a planning application for a wastewater treatment plant on the site was granted by Kilkenny County Council on November 5th.

Ms Deegan confirmed that no application for Fire Safety certification for St Patrick’s had yet been submitted for the site and no commencement notice had been submitted to the Council’s Building Control authority. A Building Control Inspection team visited the site yesterday morning and confirmed that substantial works were ongoing there and that these works are now being investigated.

Any integration role that Kilkenny County Council may have at St Patrick’s in the event of any families being accommodated there would be similar to what was previously developed for Ukrainian families. But this would only arise provided all the necessary levels of compliance – planning, building control and fire – were in place.

Cllr McGuinness made the query given the visible activity that is ongoing at St Patrick’s and said it was important to ensure that the correct information about the site’s future was disclosed clearly and public as he outlined for KCLR News’ Dermot Keyes;

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